Hey Twin!

I throw birthday shout-outs on this blog every now and again but I forgot to shoot one out to my twin brother. I guess I just got caught up in, ya know, it being my birthday as well. It has been an awesome 29 years and it NEVER gets old sharing one with my brother. Hands down, Drew is one of my favorite persons to hang out with. One of the many things I love about Drew is that he is committed to his family. I know that he would pretty much do anything for me or any of his family.
We have been though a lot together, many hard times and many great times. Drew can and could make me laugh harder than anybody. I love his wittiness, great sense of humor and impeccable timing of delivery of jokes. He is and has always been a very interesting person and I love reading his blog and one he has about my 3 sweet nieces.
I am so proud of him. He has been through a lot of changes in the past few years and it has been a joy to watch him become a husband, a father and to take those roles on so well. God has truly blessed him with a wonderful wife & kids. Here is a picture of he and his lovely family:



We have spent all of our birthdays together but one. I plan to spend every birthday with him for the rest of our lives. Here are some then and now pictures which I am all about.



For our birthday this year, we ended up hanging out at Drew's house (our spouses gave us a party). We let the kids run around and play while we socialized, ate pizza and had some cake/coffee (there is ALWAYS coffee at Drew's house). It was very enjoyable. Here are a couple of pictures from that night. At the first of this blog is a picture of my bro posing after opening up the gift we got him, a Steeler's Jersey. He is a big fan.

Thundering our Sneakers Again!

Two people who can really lift my spirits are my good friends Laura and Beth. I LOVE hanging out with them. I am so glad that they feel comfortable enough to invite themselves over or just come in through the garage of my house and make themselves totally at home. Now those are close friends!
We have started a tradition of going to the annual fundraiser, Thundering Sneakers, which Henderson's library. This was our 3rd year to do this 5K and we really have a lot of fun. I hope to be running many more years with you Beth and Laura!!!

Happy 30th B-day Charlotte!!

(the above picture was taken by Drew a year ago. Charlotte surprised him for his birthday with Steelers tickets so they went to St. Louis to watch them play the Rams - Awesome gift!)
Just wanted to make a quick post to wish my sweet sister-in-law, Charlotte. I think any given person who knows her would comment on how patient and loving she is towards everyone. She is a wonderful wife to Drew, mother to 3 beautiful girls, Aunt to my kids and sister-in-law to me...and the list goes on. I have known her even through Jr. High and High School because we played went to Christian schools that were rivals. We mainly remember each other on the basketball court. I will lower my pride just a little today and show you the beginnings of our friendship /rivalry. awwwwkward!
I love that Charlotte is so sweet but I also know about her competitive spirit which I like :) I think this picture was taken in 96' or 97'

Happy belated birthday Charlotte! Thanks for being a great friend!!

Glad I said yes!

There are plenty of things I could be blogging about right now, photos I can't wait to show you, things Pete has done that make me smile, things Aubrey says that make me laugh. However, as I was sitting here at my computer I realize that today is the day Bryan proposed to me 4 years ago. I thought it was a sign that I should tell you this fun story of my incredibly amazing husband.

First of all, I wasn't really sure when Bryan would propose to me and I was starting to wonder if he ever would. We were in a dating relationship for almost 2 years. I was living with three friends at the time (Vanessa, Laura & Beth) and worked a the Longview News Journal. Bryan was working at Satterwhite Log Homes at the time. He devised a plan to propose to me at the Satterwhite Model Log Home and then take me to the Tyler Street Bistro downtown for an engagement party. I was totally oblivious to the entire thing. I just thought we were going on a date out to eat.
Bryan said he had to check the Model Home first and make sure the lights where turned off, so I agreed to go with him there first. After realizing that our efforts were futile because most of the lights were censored lights, he called me onto the back deck...there, candles were lit and roses were at the table (Amy and Drew sneaked over before we got there). Bryan was a little nervous at first but he prayed with me then got on his knee and proposed to me. (note: Picture on the right was taken during our engagement pictures - it was where he proposed)
Friends came from Tyler and Corsicana. Family came from Tyler & Austin - Bryan even flew one of my closest friends, Megan, from Wisconsin, so that she could share that wonderful day with me. It was a great one! I don't want to possibly bore you with more details but I was completely overwhelmed by the love I felt that night from family, friends and Bryan (who incidentally is now part of my family AND my best friend).